Monaco GP Preview

Will Nico Rosberg make it 4 consecutive race wins at Monaco? Sebastian Vettel is convinced he can win at Monaco but Ferrari haven’t won here in 14 years. And will Renault engine upgrade power Red Bull to another win?

26/05/16

History of the Monaco GP

The toughest circuit on the calendar? Probably. Fast corners and tight barriers. A mistake here is costly and that’s why the drivers love it so. Along with Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps and Autodromo Nazionale di Monza it has been on the F1 calendar since 1950. The gruelling 78 laps take total control and precision. Qualifying is key here as overtaking is little but can be done.

The Monaco Grand Prix is widely considered to be one of the most prestigious automobile races in the world alongside the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Track facts

Laps: 78

Circuit length: 2.074 miles

Race distance: 161.734 miles

Lap record: 1:18:063, Daniel Ricciardo, 2015

Corners: 19

Most Wins

Ayrton Senna has the most wins with 6 round here at the principality, winning 5 consecutive times from 1989 and 1993. Graham Hill nicknamed “Mr Monaco” due to his 5 wins in Monaco in the 1960s. Out of the current field, Mercedes driver and championship leader has 3 wins in 2013, 2014 and in 2015. Could he win here on Sunday and make it 4 wins? Fernando Alonso has taken 2 wins round here in 2006 and in 2007. Kimi Raikkonen, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel all have won round here once.

McLaren are the most successful team round here with 15 wins with their last win was in 2008 with Lewis Hamilton. Ferrari are next with 9 wins but their last race win was back in 2001 with Michael Schumacher. Williams and Red Bull are tied on 3 wins each.

Vettel confident of ending Ferrari’s Monaco win drought

It has been 14 long winless years and 4 time world champion and 2011 Monaco winner, Sebastian Vettel is confident he can end the winless streak. Ferrari showed impressive pace in practice 2 and 3 at the Spanish grand prix but that pace disappeared in Qualifying and in the Race, which was eventually won by Red Bulls’ Max Verstappen. Ferrari have been heavily criticised since then so can Vettel take Ferrari to a Monaco win?

Red Bull rising to the top?

Things are slowly going Red Bull’s way since the swap between Daniil Kvyat and Max Verstappen before the Spanish grand prix. Max Verstappen winning the grand prix and now the early Renault engine upgrade given to Daniel Ricciardo for this weekend. Renault tested the “B-spec” engine during the in season test in Spain and produced positive results. One engine will be given to Red Bull and one to Renault. Kevin Magnussen will get the engine for Renault. Will this power Red Bull to a win in Monaco and set them up for title contenders?

Ultrasoft tyre makes debut

The new purple stripped Ultrasoft tyre will make it’s debut this weekend. Pirelli, F1’s current tyre supplier, brought this new tyre this year to spice up the racing. During pre season testing, Ferrari driver’s Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen were quickest on this tyre. Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen and Kevin Magnussen have all selected 10 sets each to take this weekend.

Qualifying is on Saturday the 28th of May with the Race on Sunday the 29th of May.